


I'll Miss You A Lot

by erinphernelia



Series: I'll Miss You A Lot [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Emotional, LIam's POV, M/M, OT5, Unresolved Feelings, harryandlouis friendship, larry stylinson - Freeform, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-24 03:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2566526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erinphernelia/pseuds/erinphernelia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Louis can't live together anymore. Harry and Louis can't publicly be friends anymore. Harry and Louis are falling apart. Liam remembers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To Live and Let Go

**Author's Note:**

> My first series! I'm so excited to be working on this. I'll try to update as much as possible, as my university schedule permits. Here's the first chapter. Title is all thanks to good old All Time Low (great band, check them out). Thanks to my girl MC who never judges and who understands the feels. Disclaimer: I do not own [UNFORTUNATELY] any character mentioned in this story, nor do I have any direct association with them [except in my dreams]. This is not meant to harm anyone, so please do not share this work with anyone mentioned in the story. Further Disclaimer: I do not believe that Harry and Louis are together in real life, but the whole situation of Harry moving out and their public friendship slowly disintegrating is a great mystery to me, and writing about it allows me to draw conclusions to fill in the gaps in my own mind.

“I’ll miss you lot,” Liam said, giving one last hug to each of the boys before running to catch his plane back to the UK.

 

The American leg of the tour had been incredible, but Liam was so excited to get back home and spend some much-needed alone time with his girlfriend, as he managed to tell the boys at least ten times that day.

 

 _“Oi! We get it, Payno! You’re gonna get some! Now shut it and stop makin’ the rest of us feel our blue balls!”_ Niall had teased.

 

Despite his excitement to go home, Liam was sad to be away from his boys, even though he would be seeing them in two weeks time for promo for their new album. In the back of his mind, however, was the sinking feeling that something was wrong. Once he was comfortable in his seat and the plane had taken off, he sat back and tried to figure out the negative vibes he had been feeling lately. The vibes weren’t prominent in his mind, but they were there like an annoying buzzing at the back of his head that had started to demand his attention.

 

He tried to pin point if it was something that any of the guys were doing.

  
Zayn, he thought. It was possible, seeing as Zayn had been super on edge lately due to management’s constant nagging about him having to be seen in public with Perrie as much as possible. It’s not that he didn’t love her, but the constant PR was starting to make their relationship feel fake, and it kept him under non-stop pressure and stress. That was nothing new, however, so Liam figured that probably wasn’t the bad vibes he was currently feeling.

 

Niall… Liam almost laughed at the thought. Niall was incapable of giving off bad vibes. Though now that he thought about it, the Horan family had been recently struggling with his older brother Greg, who seemed to have gone off the rails, as Niall liked to put it. Even still, Niall was a ray of sunshine and Liam knew that if something was bothering him, he would have told at least one of the guys and gotten it worked out as soon as possible.

 

The only two left were Harry and Louis, and that’s when Liam began to feel sad. No one could ever forget the day that Harry got the angry call from their management team. It was a day that would change the dynamic of the band for the rest of their career, and a phone call that still affects two of Liam’s best friends to this day.

 

_“Harry, I’m sure you’ve been keeping up with the Internet. Everyone’s talking about it. Enough is enough,” the angry man had said._

_“What are you talking about?” Harry had questioned._

_“You know exactly what I’m talking about. What the fuck is a ‘Larry Stylinson’, Mr. Styles? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA how bad this looks? Sales will begin to drop if this goes any further!”_

_“You can’t be serious!” Harry had screamed at the phone, “What did I do?”_

_“You and Mr. Tomlinson are much too close. Everyone has begun to speculate. The tabloids, the fans, and the big names in music. All of this is bad press for you boys. You don’t want people thinking that one, let alone two members of the world’s biggest boyband are faggots!” The angry man scolded from the other end._

_“Excuse me? Faggots? You lot need to be more respectful, you could hurt someone’s feeligns you know. Besides, you can’t be serious right now. We do nothing but treat each other like best friends. Louis is my best friend. You guys know that, everyone knows that. Even the fans know that! So what if they have stupid names for it, or if they want to believe other things! This is about music, not who we love!” Harry cried._

_“Styles, I warned you. You had two months to fix this or things were going to change. Now, you leave me no choice.”_

_“You can’t just tell me to move out of my flat!” Harry begged._

_“But I can, and I will. Not only that, but also you and Mr. Tomlinson will be coming in next week for a very serious discussion with our team. In the mean time, I will do some damage control. Get your stuff moved out of Louis’ flat tonight; I don’t care where you go, even to one of the other boy’s houses. But if I wake up in the morning to find out that you haven’t left, some serious negotiations will have to be made,” he continued, “and that is my final word. I expect your cooperation on this matter.”_

_With that, the big angry management man hung up the phone, and Harry began to scream and cry._

 

Liam remembers the night Harry turned up at his flat, eyes bloodshot, hair completely dishevelled. Liam had welcomed him with open arms, of course, but there were no words he could say to comfort Harry.

 

_“I knew this would happen,” he said._

_“Harry, it’s not your fault. Those people, they don’t care about us. They only care about their reputation. Just a couple more years and we can leave their organization. By this point, the fans can carry us the rest of the way, you know that,” Liam had tried to explain._

_“That’s not the point Liam! You didn’t see his face! You didn’t see his face when I told him it was time for me to move on, that I had to experience living on my own! You don’t know how hard it was to look my best friend in the face and LIE,” Harry had screamed. He didn’t stop for the rest of the night. And Liam could then do nothing. So, he sat up in his bed texting Zayn all night, trying to figure out what the hell they were going to do._

_Two weeks later, they had an interview. As usual, everyone wanted to know where they were living, if they had girlfriends, what they ate for breakfast, you know, the usual interesting questions about their music. Liam, Zayn and Niall all explained that they were living in their bachelor pads, which were truthfully in need of a good cleanup. That’s when it happened. The interviewer turned to Harry and Louis – individually of course, as they were now sitting on opposite ends of the couch, per management’s request, or force – and said,_

_“Right! You boys still live together then? Must be a great time, two best friends living together?”_

_The three other boys had their breath caught in their throat, terrified of what the outcome could be from this question._

_“Actually, not anymore,” Louis took the reigns._

_“Oh why is that?” The interviewer asked._

_“Harry decided to move out a couple of weeks ago,” Louis said, eyes sombre, teeth gritted together, trying desperately to hide his emotions._

_“And why did he decide to move out?” The lady pressed, desperately seeking an answer to a question that could have possibly torn their band apart._

_“I don’t know,” Louis managed to whisper, “He never gave a reason, just said it was time for him to move on.”_

_At that moment, Liam was sure that every heart in the room broke, if only they saw the look in Louis’ eyes. Liam had never seen him appear in such deep pain before, and by looking down the line at Harry, he could tell that they were equally an emotional wreck._

_After the interview, they had gotten into separate cars. Liam, Zayn and Louis in the first one, and Harry and Niall in the second one. They each got dropped off at their homes, and Harry did not see Louis until their next interview, and then not until the album was released, and then not until tour… and so the story went._

A single tear rolled down Liam’s cheek as he recalled that memory. It was a dark time for the band, transitioning from being ZaynLiamNiall and HarryLouis to ZaynLouis, NiallHarry, and Liam. Louis clung to Zayn during that time, and Harry to Niall, leaving Liam as the middleman. They had to deal with rumours about the ever-dreaded “Larry Stylinson”, and find a way to work cohesively without Harry and Louis’ usual shenanigans.

 

_“Are you fucking kidding me?” Louis had screamed, red in the face, mouth in a tight, straight line._

_“Yes, Mr. Tomlinson, we have decided that this is the route we need to take,” management had said._

_“YOU decided? Well let me tell you something, it’s a right piece of ARSE that I was not included in this decision. It is absolute shite that you think you have control over our lives. Harry is my best friend, and you’re telling me that we can’t interact in public anymore? What are you on? I cannot believe this! Who gave you the fucking right, you absolute arse?”_

_“Listen, Mr. Tomlin-“_

_“NO, YOU LISTEN. HOW DARE YOU. HOW DARE YOU TAKE OUR LIVES AND MOLD THEM TO A WAY THAT BEST SUITS YOU. YOU MAKE US DO STUPID DANCE MOVES, APPEAR ON A STUPID KIDS SHOW, AND DO PHOTOSHOOTS FOR MERCH THAT LOOK LIKE NO ONE OVER THE AGE OF 12 COULD WEAR, AND YET YOU STILL TRY TO CONTROL OUR PERSONAL LIVES. YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK YOU.” Louis screamed until he couldn’t scream anymore. The screaming went on for thirty minutes, he later told Liam. And all the while, Harry sad quietly in the corner, a steady stream of tears rolling down his cheeks, speechless and lost when thinking of how he was going to survive without Louis Tomlinson._

Liam remembers, and he's pretty sure he's never going to be able to forget. 


	2. I'm A Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis misses Harry. Harry took off again. Liam dealt with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! Two in one night... damn I work fast. I know these events aren't completely accurate in time period but I am not going for accuracy, I'm going for a decent plot so I don't really care when "Haylor" happened or if it was actually managements doing. Just assume everything in this story is completely fictional... also disclaimer: I do not own One Direction *dramatic sigh*. Title thanks goes to the ever-talented Ed Sheeran :)

When Liam got off the plane at Heathrow airport, he was thrilled to see Sophia standing there waiting for him, a huge smile on her face. He rushed towards her, as quickly as he could without causing a scene, and pulled her into a tight embrace. They exchanged kisses and “I missed you,”’s before being whisked away by Paddy to go home.

 

            It was strange, Liam thought, being home after so long. He had a solid two weeks to do whatever he wanted until the boys got to meet up again to do promo for their fourth album, cleverly titled “FOUR”. It was Harry’s idea, and though it wasn’t very creative all of the boys had agreed on it. “He named the band, he gets to pick the fourth album title,” Louis had said.

 

            Sophia had gone out to lunch with her mom the next day, so Liam lounged around watching television and enjoying having a free schedule until he got a text from Niall.

_Haz jutted off to LA again the arse. Just warnin ya lou might call , dont know why he does it do I … haven’t talked ta zayn bout it but I bet hes right pissed dont u_

Fuming, Liam sent a quick reply

 

_Ughhhhhhh !! he just doesn’t get it does he i bet hell be spendin some good time with azoff n them no ill deal with lou. I was just thinking too myself that I had a bad feeling in the pit off my stomach_

_Ok payno I will call ya tmrw then!!_

_Later nialler._

As if on cue, Liam’s phone started ringing with the theme song to Batman. The boy on the other line wasted no time as soon as he heard that Liam had picked up.

 

“I just can’t believe it! Can you? I mean, he can do whatever he wants and he’s got some good friends down there but you would think that he might want to come back to London after being away for so long, no?” Louis rambled.

 

“Yes, Lou. I do think that his mum and Gemma would have appreciated him coming home, but we can’t control it. You know there’s still stuff to be done for the album, maybe he was taking care of that business,” Liam reasoned.

 

“Zayn told me that Harry told him that he could do all that stuff from HQ in London! No one said anything about LA. You know what, Payno, this is just like the time he took off to LA and next thing we knew he was dating Taylor Swift I mean why does he do that?”

 

Liam couldn’t answer him, at least not about the latter, because that was a whole different story. When Harry had been rumoured to be dating Taylor Swift, Harry, management and Liam were the only ones who knew that it wasn’t all that it appeared to be.

 

 _“You want me to date_ her? _” Harry cried. “I don’t even know her, we have nothing to do with each other how on earth is this going to work?”_

_“I agree,” Liam chimed in. “Not only is it unfair for you to force Harry to ‘date’ these girls, but you could have at least picked someone normal. I mean, if you’re not telling her that it’s simply publicity, you know how badly it will go when it has to end, right? The girl’s not right in the head…”_

_“No, Li, that’s not it. I’m sure she’s a very sweet person, but I don’t want to have to pretend to date random people in order to further shut down rumours. I don’t like lying to the fans.” Harry, always the kind soul, didn’t want to hurt anyone. Liam could have punched him._

_“It’s settled, Harry. You’re to meet her in LA for your first public appearance in a month. For now, maybe start name-dropping. We own you, Mr. Styles, so I suggest you play along.” The big man from their management was not taking no for an answer, but Liam was not okay with any of what he was trying to do._

_“Now just wait a minute-,“ Liam began._

_“You both can go now,” the man said, gesturing for Liam and Harry to leave his office._

 

“I don’t know, Tommo. I don’t know.”

 

\--

 

For the next week, Liam still couldn’t shake the bad feeling. He hadn’t spoken much to the other boys, seeing as they were all on their own holiday agenda, as short as their time off was. From Niall, he had heard about the golf games he played, not much else. Zayn texted him daily, letting him know about Perrie and a new drawing he was working on. Harry sent him the occasional funny picture, but Liam was desperately trying to cease his frustration with him, so he seldom replied. Him and Louis on the other hand, spoke every day. Whether it was just a casual chat, or an in-depth discussion on which songs should make the set list for the new tour, Liam and Louis were attached at the ear.

 

Finally, one day after a long conversation of Louis complaining about Harry’s ways, Liam had had enough.

 

“What, Louis? What do you want me to say? I can’t change him. We’ve all talked about this as a group. We can’t let Harry’s trips to LA affect the band. We know he only goes there for vacation or business. He’s not seeing anyone and he’s not leaving us. What gives, Lou?”

 

And Louis just cried.

 

 

That whole situation reminded Liam of another time, the time when Harry moved out.

 

_Harry had taken up their good friend Ben’s couch, so Liam was back to living alone. It’s not that he didn’t adore Harry, but he was running out of comforting things to say to him, and he just needed some time to wrap his head around things._

_Not two days later did Louis show up at his door dressed in dirty grey sweatpants, his hair a filthy mop on the top of his head, deep purple bags under his eyes, wearing Harry’s sweater._

_“Oh, Lou,” Liam whispered._

_Louis didn’t say anything in that moment; he just fell into Liam’s arms, a mess of tears, crying about Harry and his flat at the same time._

_Liam led him inside, keeping him tucked tightly under his arm until they managed to sit side by side on the couch. Louis curled up into Liam’s side, tears showing no sign of subsiding any time soon._

_“What’s going on, Lou?”_

_“I don’t – Harry, he just… moved out! Didn’t even give a reason proper like, he – Ugh Liam! It’s so empty – you know what, I can’t… I need him. It’s hard – where did he go, did he say anything to you? DID HE?” Louis cried, reaching the point of hysteria._

_“Tommo… I’m so sorry,” Liam said, because in all honesty, he didn’t know if there_ was _anything else to say._

_“I’ll miss him a lot,” was all Louis had left in him before he fell asleep on Liam’s shoulder._


End file.
